An Honest Mom Blog

Month: November 2016

Potty training has been by far the hardest part of parenting a toddler for me. I will take the tantrums and the makeup stealing any day of the week. Potty training requires constant attention, something that I am not good at maintaining. Not only do I have to tackle the task of potty training, but I have to do it with an almost three year old who has zero interest. She does NOT want to be a big girl, she does NOT want to wear big girl underwear, and she actually likes her diapers. Awesome. Today is day one of what I foresee to be a long process. My plan as of now is listed below, I will update tomorrow with a success post (yeah right).

Step One, Get a Potty: Check. We have actually had two different potty seats for awhile. They have sat untouched, collecting dust as my child refuses to use them. We have one like this that goes on the regular toilet, pictured above, because I thought it would be such a breeze to get her used to the big people toilet right away. Nope, it’s still scary. We also have a small floor version, like this one, that we got from Ikea. It was cheap and so far it’s her favorite because she can access it herself. She still hates it, but she’s at least more willing to think about this one.

Step Two, Talk Incessantly About the Potty: Check. Do you need to go potty? Are you sure? Did you know that Sofia the First goes potty? Probably on a solid gold toilet! Isn’t that cool, shall we do that? No? Do you want to read about the potty? Please?!

Step Three, Buy Underwear: Check. We got some super cool Sofia the First, Minnie Mouse, and Doc McStuffins underwear from Target. It’s definitely important to pick characters that your child loves so that they will be excited to wear them.

Step Four, Get the Candy: Check. I know, tons of parents will never even think of bribing their child with candy or anything else. That’s fine. You do you, your kid will potty train just fine with or without this step. I happen to have a huge bucket of Halloween candy and the need to save my sanity so I will be bribing my toddler. I am approaching it as a reward for after she uses the potty successfully. I am not telling her things like “Please use the potty so you can get a candy,” but instead just reminding her to try using the potty and then if she happens to go she gets a candy. She of course has already picked up on how it works and now uses the potty and immediately holds out her hand for candy. This is probably going to bite me later, but she’s using the potty so I’m going with it. I plan to change it up to a single candy, like one M&M, and then eventually a sticker chart. Props to all the parents who do this with no bribes or rewards, I do truly envy your strength and your child’s drive to learn to use the toilet. I could be approaching this in the completely wrong way because news flash, I’ve never raised a toddler before. Whatever works for you and your family, do it.

If you are still struggling with potty training, or if it is far in your future but something you are still worried about just remember: it will happen. I promise you that health issues aside, your child will not be in diapers in college. Don’t worry, you got this.

So, my daughter is an avid watcher of those Youtube videos where they unbox things and unwrap eggs and open toys. This morning she told me she wanted a Hatchimal. Okay, let’s check this out, I thought. I already have no idea what to get a child who plays with absolutely no toys that are made for her actual age level, so I’m open to anything at this point when it comes to Christmas gifts. I pull up Amazon, do a quick search, and this is what I find: Hatchimals Interactive Creature Penguala Hatching Egg. First of all, what the bleep is a “Penguala”? Is this like a penguin and a koala? My child still thinks those dust particles that show in sunlight are butterflies, I don’t need to add a Penguala to the mix. I noticed that it said “only available through third party sellers” and decided to check out other sites, like Target. Seemingly you can get these things there for ONLY $59.99. What a steal! Not. I suppose if you absolutely must buy your child one of these things (I get it, you snapped on the 587th time of being asked, I would too) you should probably check out your local Target or Walmart first. I for one will not be purchasing one of these things. Apparently you can teach it to walk, talk, dance, and more! I already have a toddler thank you, I know what it’s like. I’m always blown away by the new toys of the year that cost and arm, a leg, and the parent’s sanity. I mean, a talking penguin that comes out of an egg. That is what we are spending the equivalent of a pair of shoes or a makeup palette or half a grocery trip on! It doesn’t teach my kid how to tie her shoes or give her candy so she’s gonna be interested in it for about three days before it gets shoved under the bed in favor of a box or a piece of lint. I told her that Hatchimals were only sold in Antarctica so unfortunately I was unable to obtain one. I wish you a happy holiday shopping season, may your child never hear of these things.

As you know I am super cheap so I tend to stay away from Bath and Body Works for most things. They do have great products, but I can almost always find something similar at a different store for much less. The exception to this is their hand soaps. Oh my goodness, they have the best hand soaps! They smell amazing and the scent lingers on your hands forever. I promise, people will ask what that great smell is and you can do jazz hands and exclaim, “It’s me!”. These hand soaps normally cost $6.50 each, which is way too much for my penny pinching self, but right now they are on sale for 6 for $24! It’s still a LOT for a hand soap, but I promise it’s so worth it. The sale goes on “while supplies last” so check it out online or in person, where there were still tons available at my local mall. They have every scent from bakery smells to fruity to holiday and also come in both foaming and the kind that has the fancy little beads in it, whatever that’s called. Awesome, it’s called awesome.